Tag: effectiveness

As promised yesterday, today’s thoughts are the beginning of what will likely be a multi-part exploration of TRUTH.

The question that’s been driving this meditation is this…”Does the truth really matter if the stories/lies are effective?” The context for this question is not the every day interaction where certainly the truth is preferable to non-truth. Our interactions with others work best when we can trust that they will do what they say they will. These interactions are like contracts with each other and unlike simple game theory where independent actors deal with one another in a vacuum, most of us build histories with the people around us and for better or worse our reputationo precedes us. We can not escape bad behavior and lack of integrity so the best gambit is to be honest and forthright all the time…it’s easier and there is no “getting found out” looming.

So we should be honest with each other. But what about ourselves? I naively thought the truth would set me free but then I got to listening to a wide range of personal development gurus, expert marketers, physchilogy professors…and I began to wonder…what if we told ourselves better lies, rather than the truth? Taking affirmations and “fake it till you make it” to the next logical level, what if rather than accepting the current reality, we challenged ourselves and our preconceived notions about things that are possible or likely or statistically significant, and instead told ourselves and bought into the “better lies” of what COULD BE?

Not unlike white lies to save your friend’s face in a social setting, maybe the truth is “Yes, you look very fat in that dress!” But that does more harm than good. Maybe the “truth” that “I’m a fat ass and I always will be!” is negative self-talk disguised as partial truth. I may be fat but it’s a fiction to believe that will always be the case.

If negative self-talk disguises itself as truth, shouldn’t we be able to hijack these half-truths for good?

The power is in the believing. Positive or negative.

Ok, what are the applications?

I propose that the endless search for truth may not prove as fruitful as people imagine, being self-limiting and present-limited. We can do better by seeking excellence and pushing ourselves to believe beyond our current selves.

Think about it and I’ll gladly accept points to ponder as I try to flesh out this theory.